Kings of the Jungle
by SwiftlyTiltingPlanet
Summary: Luffy has had a rather rough life, what with his mother's death, his father's absence, his grandpa's abuse, and the loss of an older brother. What were the many days he spent thieving in the city and foraging in the jungle like? How many times must he rely on Ace to save his life, and how did one of the most infamous pirates rise to the top from a small town in the East Blue?
1. Chapter 1

**I just joined this site the other day, and this is one of the first few stories I'm posting so it might be a bit rough. I know we had a whole mini-arc surrounding Luffy's backstory, but honestly I can't get enough of little Luffy. I'm sure there's more to his backstory regarding Dragon and his mother and how he came to be in Garp's care, but until then all we can do is speculate. This fic might become irrelevant in the future of One Piece but for right now it's fun to write. If you enjoy it, feel free to offer suggestions or feedback, I'm open minded and can fit some head cannons in if they fit within the narrative I've come up with. As it is, I hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Minor Mishaps**

"Thank you for the meal!" Ace and Luffy both said in unison as they bowed politely to the enraged chef who was chasing behind them. Their thanks seemed to only infuriate the man further as his face turned bright red.

"You damn kids, when I catch you I'll skin you alive!" He screamed waving his arms in the air. Several more shouts followed the initial threat and a handful of guards began following after them.

"Okay time to go!" Ace exclaimed grabbing Luffy by the back of the shirt and turning to run. The two brothers laughed as they scampered through the streets of the city, their full stomachs sloshing slightly with all the food they had just eaten without paying. It had been several years since Luffy had seen Ace laughing so hard. He didn't know what had happened over the past few months to make his brother so giddy as ever since the incident with Sabo, Luffy had noticed that Ace's smile never quite met his eyes. Seeing the gleeful look on the fifteen year old's face only made Luffy laugh all the more merrily despite the armed soldiers pursuing them.

"You're under arrest, you miscreants!" a deep voice shouted and a large man suddenly blocked their path causing the two boys to stop in their tracks. Luffy, who was just a hair slower than his elder brother, nearly crashed right into Ace as he abruptly halted and threw out his arms instinctively to protect the younger boy. The man was nearly nine feet tall and had a large frame that was covered with the thick armor the royal guards all wore, despite this he lacked the traditional headgear and they could see the malice in his eyes and the contemptuous sneer on his lips. Ace looked around wildly and noticed a small gap in the buildings that revealed an alleyway to the left. Thinking quickly he grabbed Luffy by the arm and dragged him behind him.

The gap was so thin that the two boys had to suck in their full guts to squeeze through into the larger pathway. Ace grimaced as he felt the rough bricks scraping against his bare skin but it didn't stop him. Luffy however wasn't so lucky and about halfway through the gap got caught and was unable to move allowing the large guard to make a mad swipe to grab him. The armored man was too large to fit through the passageway but his reach was just long enough to grab the rubber boy by the arm and begin to yank him out. The man let out a surprised shout as, instead of pulling Luffy free, the arm began to stretch out. In his surprise the guard nearly dropped the elastic limb but he quickly composed himself and began to reel in Luffy's arm as though it were a long rope. Ace shouted in alarm and began to do the same to Luffy's right arm which began to extend as well. The two men's attempts to retrieve the distressed Luffy from the walls resulted in a strange tug of war that slowly escalated as they pulled harder and harder.

"AHH!" Luffy cried out in pain as the rate of his stretching arms began to slow and his face became strained. "Ace, you guwys awre huwrting me!" he shouted frantically, his voice slightly muffled as his face was pressed in between the two buildings.

"That's your own damn fault for eating so much you fucking gluton!" Ace shouted through gritted teeth from the strain of pulling his brother free. In truth it wasn't really all Luffy's fault as having skin made from rubber made him much more susceptible to getting stuck as he generated much more friction than most others. Luffy was squeezing his eyes tight now, trying desperately not to cry out in pain again as he didn't want Ace to think he was being a crybaby. Nothing was worse than letting Ace down or having him think poorly of him. So he simply endured the pain as the two continued to relentlessly pull. At this point it seemed to be more out of a contest of strength than one of need.

"When I get my hands on you, you're going to wish you were never born!" The burly soldier said with a heave, causing Ace to yank on the arm in his grasp just as hard in response. Luffy whimpered quietly as he felt a surge of pain in both limbs. He saw the anger in Ace's eyes grow exponentially at the man's words, something about what the soldier had said seemed to throw the boy off balance.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" He screamed and gave his own savage tug. Just then there was an awful ripping sound and a spurt of blood shot out from Luffy's arms as the rubber flesh began to fray from the stretching. Both men gave out a gasp and released the arms which then snapped back into place with such force that it knocked Luffy free. The boy gasped as he finally pulled himself from between the walls. He stumbled into the alley way and he held both of his shoulders, which were leaking the bright ruby liquid at an alarming rate. The soldier on the other side of the wall screamed in frustration and he punched the stone bricks actually managing to chip them. He pulled out a pistol and fired three times into the gap, all of which missed, before he stormed off to find another entrance to the alley. The gunshots rang in the air as the scene was filled with a stunned stillness.

Ace reached up and felt his brother's blood upon his cheek, a look of horror on his face as he pulled his hand down to stare at it in a state of disturbed fascination. Luffy was crouched over, his arms across his chest as he was still gripping his shoulders tightly. He clenched his teeth and grimaced in pain. The sound of footsteps shook Ace out of his trance and he quickly grabbed Luffy by the arm once more, this time a bit more gently and the two of them ran down the streets. Turn after random turn they ran until they were hopelessly lost in the backstreets of the Goa kingdom. Thankfully now the soldiers pursuing them were lost too, as there was no trace of them following the boys anymore despite the trail of blood that was sparsely left over the oddly clean streets. Breathing heavily, Ace and Luffy slumped against a wall and caught their breath.

"It seems," Ace heaved, still trying to catch his breath, "that they have finally caught on to our escape route, the damn bastards… We'll have to figure out a new way out of town…" Ace leaned back against the wall thinking hard. Luffy said nothing, he just sat there breathing heavily. His arms hurt so badly, but he didn't want Ace to think he was being a wimp or to make him feel guilty. So instead of saying anything he simply smiled through the pain though it came out looking a bit more like a grimace.

"Yep!" he said cheerfully after a few minutes and tried to pat his brother on the shoulder to reassure him, but the sudden movement agitated the open wound causing it to spurt blood once more. Ace cried out in alarm at the sight of the twelve year old's surge of blood. The bleeding began to pick up speed and Luffy bit his lip until it too began to bleed to keep from crying out.

"Luffy!" Ace exclaimed in concern, "Stop moving you idiot!" Luffy immediately froze. He felt awful, not because of the pain in his arms but because of the fact that it was his fault that Ace's first real smile in years was ruined. In fact he felt like crying, but that would make Ace even more upset so he bit his lip even harder. Why couldn't he be as tough as his older brother was.

"I'm sorry Ace, I didn't mean to get stuck," he whimpered miserably, sniffling slightly as his attempts to not cry were failing. Ace's face went rigid for a moment, then he softened slightly and scooted closer to his little brother and knelt beside him. Luffy looked up at him and grabbed his shoulders to hide the wound, not wanting to worry him. Instead of angrily hitting him over the head as Luffy expected, Ace gently removed his hand from his shoulder and looked at the frayed flesh. The wound looked worse than it was and at the sight of the torn skin Ace's face went slightly pale.

"I'm sorry Luffy, I should've been more careful," he said softly as he removed his shirt to tear it into bandages he could use to wrap around Luffy's injured arms. As he began to apply the cloth bindings, Luffy involuntarily flinched causing Ace to pull away reflexively. "This looks really bad… are you sure you're okay Luffy?" he asked looking almost frightened. Luffy shook his head and forced a smile.

"I'm fine Ace, don't worry about it, it doesn't even hurt at all!" And to prove it he stupidly punched his bleeding shoulder. This unsurprisingly backfired as the shock caused a wave of pain and there was a loud snapping sound as another thin layer of muscle and tissue tore from the strain. Ace recoiled a look of horror twisting his face as Luffy screamed and doubled over, clutching the agitated wound.

"See… I'm fine…" hissed Luffy through gritted teeth, although he was trembling slightly to keep from crying. At this remark Ace's face turned bright red as it contorted into rage. He raised his hand to slap Luffy over the head, then thinking better of it after the display he had just witnessed, brought his fist down heavily on the stone earth.

"YOU IDIOT!" he screamed "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" At this point Luffy's right arm was bleeding furiously and his left looked like it was about to fall off his shoulder. Luffy looked away sheepishly, Ace was the only person in the world whose opinion mattered to him, and he was clearly ruining it.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered "It doesn't hurt though, really I'm fine-"

"NO YOU AREN'T! THIS IS SERIOUS LUFFY, YOU COULD LOSE AN ARM IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL!" Ace screamed and Luffy's lip began to tremble as big fat tears began to roll down his cheeks. His chest began to heave as it was racked with sobs he was trying desperately to suppress. But with the pain in his arms and his upsetting Ace he couldn't hold it back any more.

"IT HURTS!" he wailed throwing back his head, his tears flooding out now, then he quickly caught himself and covered his mouth and held his breath to stop his tears as he often did whenever Ace yelled at him not to cry. "I'm sorry Ace!" he said quietly "it doesn't hurt, I'm fine!" He looked up at the teenager to see if he was mad. Luffy felt his stomach sink when he saw Ace's face, he definitely wasn't happy. "I'm sorry," he whispered again, hoping Ace wouldn't be upset anymore. He just wanted his brother to be happy.

"What the hell're you sorry for!?" Ace cried exasperated. Luffy sniffled and looked away shrugging, although the simple movement caused his arms to ache and he winced a bit.

"I almost got us caught cause I got stuck, and then you had to pull me out and now we're lost… and you don't like it when I cry… please don't be mad Ace," Luffy glanced back up at the older boy, he had a pained expression which caused Luffy to pause. He remembered the gunshots the guard had fired, had Ace been hurt!? This was bad. "Are you okay Ace?" Luffy asked nearly forgetting about his own pain while looking Ace up and down for injuries. Ace's face softened and he ruffled his hand through Luffy's matted hair.

"I'm fine," he answered softly looking to be deep in thought, after a brief pause he looked at his little brother who was staring up at him with watery eyes. "Are you trying to prove that you're strong Luffy?" Luffy said nothing but he looked away, he wiped away a few tears and mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" Ace asked.

"I just don't want you to be upset," he mumbled again, a little louder this time. This seemed to startle Ace slightly, he obviously wasn't sure what to make of Luffy's response.

"I'm not going to be upset if you cry Luffy," Ace said very softly and Luffy blinked in surprise, Ace always yelled at him when he cried. "And it's not your fault you got hurt," he added pausing slightly "...its mine, I'm sorry Luffy…" Luffy felt his lip beginning to tremble and now that he knew it was alright with Ace he didn't stop the tears. He leaned his head on Aces shoulder and cried into it as Ace patted him gently on the back to comfort him. They stayed like this for several moments, finding comfort in each other's presence. Finally Luffy's crying fizzled out slightly and the two brothers separated from each other so that Ace could once again treat the wounds.

"I really did a number on your arms," Ace said as he began bandaging Luffy's right arm, "I'm really sorry," he added. Luffy shook his head although he was still sniffling slightly and wincing in pain.

"Its fine, it's not that bad," he answered not wanting to make Ace feel any more guilty than he already did.

"No it's not fine, if I ever act stupid like that again I want you to punch me okay!?" Luffy gasped, Ace had never let Luffy get a clean hit on him ever. His eyes went wide at the thought of it.

"Really!?" he whispered not even daring to take the offer seriously. Ace nodded solemnly and Luffy grinned and laughed "okay then, but I won't go easy on you!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Ace said returning Luffy's smile as he tied down the last bandage. When he was done Luffy Immediately jumped to his feet and began bouncing up and down on his heels excitedly. Ace sighed, he knew what that meant, the boy smelled meat. Ace tipped his head back slightly and gave his own experimental sniff, just faintly he caught the scent of something cooking on the breeze though he couldn't quite place what it was.

"Chicken…" Luffy breathed, his eyes glazing over and his mouth visibly beginning to water. Ace shook his head, they had just eaten hardly twenty minutes ago and already Luffy wanted more. Ace was usually known to have an extreme appetite but it was the one thing his brother had over him. Luffy began sniffing the air once more searching for the source of the scent his head whipping about wildly. Ace knew the second he pinpointed the location.

"GOMU GOMU NO-" Luffy began preparing to stretch out his arms so he could rocket himself towards the meat.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Ace screamed wrapping his arms around Luffy, pinning the still injured limbs to the boys chest. Luffy wriggled for a few moments, but he was oddly weak and didn't struggle for nearly as long as he usually would have done under similar circumstances. Finally the boy went limp in his arms so that Ace was supporting all of his weight. His face lost the intense expression he'd had just moments ago, and his tongue was lolling out pitifully as he was clearly exhausted.

"I want food…" Luffy panted out but Ace gently whacked him over the head.

"You dumbass, you can hardly stand, we're going home," Luffy began to wriggle a little more at that but Ace held him tightly. "You lost a lot of blood, you need to get some rest before you pass out!"

"That's why I need meat…" Luffy insisted but Ace easily scooped up the twelve year old who hadn't quite hit his growth spurt and even then was still quite small for his age.

"We are going home," Ace said slowly and firmly before pausing, "I promise I'll let you have some of my dinner tonight if you stop struggling," There was a brief pause, and then Luffy agreed, exhaustion winning out over his appetite for maybe the first time in his life. Ace gently shifted Luffy so that he was holding him piggy back style, his head resting comfortably on his shoulder so that he immediately fell asleep. Ace chuckled as the boy began to snore, assuring him that his brother would be just fine with a few days rest. He looked at his surroundings now, trying to determine the best course of action to take to find the way home. It had begun to drizzle at some point and the kingdom seemed to be in a state of calm. Ace smiled and he began jogging gently down the street, carefully holding his sleeping brother on his back in the gentle rain. He would find the way home.

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**As Luffy and Ace are both a bit younger in this story, I'm trying to write them with a mix of both their childhood personalities and the adult ones we've come to know and love. As this is the case, Luffy is a bit more of a crybaby than he is in the current story and a bit less confident in his abilities, and Ace is still a bit negligent to his little brother's needs. They are both learning though. This was originally intended to be part of a series of one shots but I ended up accidentally turning it into its own story so that's why this seemed a bit self contained. **

**Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed it, feel free to write a review if you so desire and if not, that's fine as well. **


	2. Chapter 2

**As someone who's not the biggest fan of romance or OCs (not shaming anyone who likes to write OCs or read them, just not personally my thing), who would've thought I'd put both in my story. Honestly I did my best to write Lizzy as a realistic and likable character who would fit into the One Piece world. Whether or not I succeeded is up to you. I actually had to write several OCs for this story considering there aren't actually that many characters in Luffy's backstory aside from the bandits, the pirates and of course Garp and Makino. In any case, none of them are meant to be too overly critical to the plot and mainly serve to drive Luffy and Ace's characters through the story. As it is, I hope you enjoy.**

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**Chapter 2: A Meeting in the Rain**

Ace was staring at the ceiling of the mini fort he and Luffy had built just beside Dadan's hut. There was no noise aside from the gentle pattering of the rain which had been falling steadily for two days now and the soft slow breathing of his little brother as he slept. It had been a few days now since the chase in the alleyway that had resulted in his injury and the small boy was confined to his room until it healed. However Luffy refused to stay put and rest unless Ace was there with him. If Ace thought Luffy was clingy as a child, it had been even worse ever since they had lost Sabo. Even though Ace had promised the seven year old at the time that he wouldn't die, Luffy hated to see him leave his sights for anything longer than a few hours at a time. Ace sighed, Luffy could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. He looked down at his little brother who was resting his head upon Ace's chest and was clinging slightly to his shirt, his fingers wrapped firmly around the thin fabric. Ace couldn't help but smile as he felt the steady rise and fall of his body and the warmth of his presence.

"You are such a nuisance," he muttered warmly, feeling an odd surge of affection bubbling up inside him and he gently ruffled his hair. Luffy mumbled something in his sleep, it was mostly unintelligible but Ace swore he heard the word meat in there somewhere. He chuckled to himself. As much as the boy could be infuriatingly clingy and maddeningly reckless, he was his little brother and Ace wouldn't change a thing about him. He just hoped that Luffy would be able to maintain that intangible quality, that innate Luffy-ness that was indescribable by words. The odd paradox of selfish selflessness and stubborn determination mixed with childish wonder that had endeared him to the boy. He had a radiant smile that never failed to draw out his own and a laugh so contagious it spread like wildfire.

But as much as Ace loved his brother he had grown tired of staying here by his side for so long. He was getting restless, and he couldn't stay cooped up in this room for three more days which was the estimated time it would take for Luffy's arms to fully heal. Ace studied his brother's sleeping face, he was deep in slumber and most likely would be for another several hours. If all Luffy was going to do was sleep, there was no need for Ace to be there was there? He would simply head down to grey terminal for a few hours and be back before Luffy even knew he was gone.

Slowly and carefully, he began to unwrap himself from the boy's grasp. When finally he had removed his shirt from the tangled grip Luffy had held him in, he slowly began to slide out from under him, gently lowering his head to the ground. Ace knew that Luffy was a fairly deep sleeper and it would take a lot more than that to wake him up, but he couldn't help but be gentle to the small boy who seemed so vulnerable as he slept, his upper body wrapped in slightly red-tinged bandages. Ace sighed in relief as he was finally free of the kid, and he had continued to sleep peacefully, just barely stirring. Not taking his eyes off of him until he closed the curtain behind him, Ace crept out of the room while Luffy stayed blissfully unaware of his brother's absence.

Now out in the open rain, Ace stretched and leaned back his head, allowing the cooling liquid to run down his face. He inhaled deeply and relished the earthy scent of the jungle as it rained. It smelled of damp wood and healthy soil, and of course it carried the cool scent of storm clouds and fog. Ace wasn't one to enjoy rainy days or cold weather, but even he had to appreciate the serene and free atmosphere brought on by the storm. Thunder gently rumbled in the distance as he began the long hike down the mountain to the grey terminal outside of the Goa Kingdom. His boots were getting caked with mud but he didn't care, his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. He felt his heart racing faster and faster with every step he took toward the trash heap.

A twig snapped behind him and he whirled around his face turning red. What if Luffy was following him. Oh he would never live it down if Luffy found out about her. He would laugh for days as he had when they were kids whenever they saw Makino and Ace couldn't hide his feelings. He wanted to punch his younger self for being an idiot, developing a crush on an older girl and being so obvious about it made him feel retroactively humiliated. They hadn't seen Makino in ages and Ace still wasn't sure if he could face his former crush despite the fact that his heart now belonged to another woman.

As he peered into the jungle he saw that it was just a small stray cat leaping down from the branch of a tree and taking shelter at its base. Ace sighed in relief, he didn't want to have to put up with Luffy's immaturity about romance ever again. He turned back to the path and continued on his way to grey terminal. The walk seemed to take forever as his anticipation at seeing her again stretched the minutes into hours. Finally after what seemed like eternity, the trees began to thin and he found himself at the base of a large pile of both literal and figurative shit. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the smell, if there was something grey terminal wasn't known for, it was it's class.

Ace just hoped she would be here today, though with the weather as dismal as it was there was a good chance she would be back at her own home safe and warm. If she was out here, Ace hoped she had dressed appropriately and wouldn't catch cold in this cool, damp environment. If the rain made the forest seem peaceful, it made grey terminal an even more disgusting and unsanitary place to be. The runoff water disturbed the junk piles causing new odors to emerge and the sewage from the city sometimes overflowed and drained into the junkyard. People were huddling together in makeshift huts, doing their best to keep out of the rain, some of them were so thin and disheveled that Ace would've thought they were corpses if it weren't for their relentless shivering. Overall it was a depressing scene.

Then he saw her. His heart nearly burst out of his chest as his eyes locked onto the one being who had entirely taken up his thoughts and feelings for the past few weeks. She was carrying a large woven basket laden with bread and canned soups. She was wearing a light cream colored scarf over her head to protect her golden hair from the rain and a large billowy soft pink rain jacket that seemed slightly too large for her. In her right hand she held a lavender umbrella which shielded her from the storm and matched her willowy dress. When she turned to face him, two brilliant blue eyes met his from under the shadow of her scarf. A wide smile stretched across her face revealing dimples on either cheek and gleaming white teeth, radiant as the moon.

"Lizzy!" he called and she seemed to swell with joy at the sight of him.

"Ace!" she squealed happily as she rushed toward him and threw her arms around him, tackling him in a hug that rivaled that of Luffy. The heavy basket she was carrying awkwardly whipped around and whacked him in the backside as her momentum accidentally threw it into him. If she had been any ordinary girl he might not have noticed but Lizzy was surprisingly strong and heavy for her size. Ace nearly stumbled back with the force of her hug but was able to catch himself just in time before he fell into the junk pile behind him. He laughed returning the hug and holding her close to him. She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a long, slow kiss that made his entire body flood with warmth.

"I haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been!?" she exclaimed as she pulled away, looking up at him. She was a foot shorter than he was and had a petite frame that made it even more surprising that she could easily rival him in an arm wrestling match.

"Oh, well you know I was busy all week and then my idiot brother got into some trouble so I had to stay at home and take care of him," Ace shrugged, still smiling. She gave him another big squeeze and laid her head on his chest.

"Just don't do that again! I nearly died of loneliness," she lamented dramatically and Ace laughed. Lizzy was prone to bouts of drama that were often playful in nature but even when serious typically weren't anything to worry over as her mood was quite plastic and malleable.

"I've hardly been gone a week," he chuckled and she shook her head.

"And that's one week too long if you ask me," she answered pulling away. Ace looked down at the woven basket that had nearly knocked the wind out of him, it was much too large to contain a meal for just one person, or even two. She looked to see what he was staring at and gasped in dismay, rushing to close the lid of the basket before the rain ruined the freshly baked bread.

"Are you giving the people here food again?" he asked and her face turned pink and she looked away embarrassed. He sighed and lightly kissed her on the forehead, she was much too kind for her own good. "You do realize that you're just encouraging them to bum off of you, and if the guards catch you feeding the people out here they could arrest you for it," he pointed out and her face shifted from pink to red as an indignant rage overtook her.

"Why should they have to eat garbage just because they're poor, it's not fair Ace! What the nobles do, it's wrong! Why do these people have to live in squalor because the rulers of our country believe they are lesser creatures!" She exclaimed, her voice trembling with rage. She stared up at him defiantly, waiting for him to contradict her. Ace couldn't help glancing around quickly making sure that there weren't any guards in the area who might have overheard her treasonous words, even though he knew he could take care of anyone who did try to hurt her.

"I agree Lizzy, but I don't like it when you come out here alone, you didn't know I'd be coming today but you came anyway and any one of these scumbags could-" he cut himself off at the thought "Just don't come out here without some sort of protection ok!" He snapped and she looked away, pouting slightly.

"I can take care of myself you know!" He did know that, quite well actually. But he couldn't help but feel nervous about her coming here without his protection. There was always the chance that she would be outnumbered, or taken by surprise. There was an unprecedented amount of thugs in the area and it was rife with failed pirates who had taken the place of the now deceased Bluejam crew. Ace had even heard rumors of slavers in the area and it would be just their luck to catch a lovely young woman like Lizzy for the market. Just the thought of it made Ace's blood run cold. But he knew that she wouldn't listen to him, Lizzy was too stubborn for her own good, much like him he supposed.

Oddly enough, this was how Ace and Lizzy had first met. Ace had gone into grey terminal to find Luffy a gift in the junkyard for his birthday. He was sure there were at least a few perfectly good toys that some spoiled rich kid had thrown out, and he was hoping to find a really cool one that would blow Luffy's mind. As he had been rummaging through the junk, Lizzy had approached him with a delicious meal, offering it to him. At first he had been so overwhelmed by her beauty that he hadn't been able to do anything but stare at her. The first thing he noticed was how much she stood out against the filth of grey terminal. She was wearing fine fabrics and lace, all well kept and neat and she seemed well fed despite her small size. But she had insisted on him taking the food, and when a lovely girl offers you food, you don't deny it. She had stayed beside him as he ate, introducing herself, asking him questions about his life outside the Goa kingdom.

There was no mistaking that she was from the city. But she was never condescending, she never acted like Ace was beneath her, and soon he found himself incapable of staying away from her. He would sneak away several times a week to meet her, doing his best to keep her a secret from Luffy. It had been a long time since he felt so good, there was a strange warmth in his chest and face whenever he saw her and an odd butterfly sensation in his stomach. Just being around her was enough to put him in a better mood. Before he knew it, he was head over heels in love with her.

"Have you ever considered wearing a hat?" she asked him, as he assisted her in ladling out bowls of soup for a family who was nearly in tears at the sight of a fresh meal.

"What?" he asked nearly dropping the bowl. She bonked him gently on the head with the end of the ladle.

"Be more careful," she scolded, as he had almost spilled the contents all over the ground "And I was asking if you'd ever considered wearing a hat," she paused looking him over "I think it would suit you." He shrugged, he'd never really thought of himself as a hat person, that was more of his brother's thing.

"You think so?" he asked and she put one hand on her chin as she thought it over, still staring at him contemplatively. She nodded slightly.

"Yes, I think orange would be your color… you have a very bright personality," she replied turning back to the starving family. "How's the food!?" She asked cheerfully, giving them a dazzling smile that was unlike anything anyone here in the terminal could give.

"Thank you so much! It's delicious! No one has ever given us anything so good or done something so kind for us!" The father exclaimed fighting back tears of joy as he fed his children for the first time in months. Lizzy said nothing, she simply smiled and put the remaining soup and bread back into the basket before turning to leave. Ace followed after her, loving the truly joyful grin on her face.

The final family they fed consisted of only three. Despite the delicious meal, they still seemed quite distraught. Though they were not ungrateful, both Lizzy and Ace could tell that there was something wrong. When Lizzy asked the father what it was, he simply pointed to his young daughter who was hardly four years old. She had dark circles under her eyes and she was extremely pale and she hadn't even touched her food. It was quite clear that although she seemed strong enough to walk the poor thing had caught the summer sickness that was known to spread through these parts this time of year. Ace was glad that he and Luffy had never caught cold, because even the slightest hint of illness could lead to the deadly plague catching hold of you. It was ultimately incurable.

"I see," Lizzy said softly, she tried offering the food in front of her again but the little girl just shook her head. Lizzy sighed and put the bowl down. She began rummaging around in her basket as if searching for something but he saw her clench her teeth in frustration as she seemed unable to find it. Finally she put the basket down and removed her rain jacket and handed it to the little girl. The girl's eyes went wide as she took hold of the expensive fabric.

"Fit for a princess huh?" Lizzy asked and the girl smiled, her eyes gleaming with delight. Lizzy helped her as the child eagerly dawned her new luxurious clothing. Well it was luxurious compared to the potato sack the girl had re-purposed into a dress.

"Thank you," the little girl whispered, Lizzy said nothing. Ace was watching the entire scene with shock. If there was one flaw that Lizzy had, it was her vanity. She loved to look nice and he was surprised to see her willingly part with part of her outfit. Suddenly Lizzy turned and left the hut, Ace followed close behind.

"I hate this Ace," she said softly, stopping just a few feet ahead of him.

"Your outfit isn't that bad without the coat," he offered comfortingly. She turned to glare at him and he saw that there were tears in her eyes.

"Not that you idiot!" she sighed and closed her eyes, clearly trying hard not to cry. Ace bowed his head feeling a bit sheepish that he hadn't caught on to her clear shift in mood. Not only that but it hadn't really occurred to him that as the daughter of relatively wealthy merchants, she wasn't nearly as used to seeing the symptoms of poverty such as plague and starvation as he was. To him, child death was a common occurrence in his environment and he had learned to build a wall and distance himself from the thought. He hadn't considered that maybe she still hadn't come to terms with the nature of the world they lived in as he had long ago. Sometimes it was easy to forget just how young they were as he had to grow up so much faster than others just to keep him and his brother alive.

"What is it then," he asked, already knowing the answer and not sure if he should do something more to comfort her. She hadn't needed to grow up nearly as fast as he had and now he could see her as she was, a young sixteen year old girl who was witnessing life's tragedies and feeling powerless to fix it.

"I hate having all this money and not being able to do jack shit with it!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking slightly, "What am I supposed to do, I can't save that little girl, she's got the plague and no one seems to care, no one is trying to stop it! Do people really believe that she doesn't deserve to live because of where and to whom she was born!? She's gonna die and it's just because she can't afford to live in a nice home like my family can!" She ripped off her scarf and threw it to the ground, as if offended by the idea that she was allowed to have the luxury of owning it when there were people who were literally so poor that they had to wear and eat garbage just to survive. The lovely cream colored scarf sank into the mud and was now little more than another piece of meaningless cloth abandoned in grey terminal.

Lizzy slowly turned and embraced him, no longer able to hold back her tears. Ace was silent, he knew that she was correct. The girl deserved to live, she was going to die, and worst of all was a truth that he had sadly gone numb to: nobody cared. Lizzy was trembling and he couldn't tell if it was in rage or in pain, not that it made any difference as no matter what she felt it wouldn't change a thing. He hated how pessimistic he was, but time and time again, the world he lived in had proven to him that there was no such thing as justice or equality. There were only nobles and the corruption of power that led them to seeing themselves as higher beings than those who had less than them. He wrapped his arms around her gently, allowing her to cry without demanding her to say anything.

"It's not fair!" She cried out miserably into his chest, her voice breaking.

"I know," he answered and gently rested his head on hers, unable to say anything more. Her tears were silent and her sobs nothing more than despaired hiccups that were just enough to make her shoulders bounce gently. He continued to hold her as she let out her despair and frustration at the world's indifference. They stayed like this for several moments until she was able to slow her tears.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," she sniffled "I think so," she chuckled a bit. "Ugh I'm a mess...thanks Ace."

"You look miserable," he commented and she laughed, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

Suddenly a loud crash of thunder shook the skies, making both Ace and Lizzy jump. The steady drizzle that had been bearing down on the island for the past several days suddenly erupted into a violent downpour. Lizzy screamed and dropped the now empty basket as a sudden gust of wind blew away her umbrella and she was now open to be thoroughly soaked by the storm. She gave a small gasp of shock as the rain seeped through her clothes leaving her drenched. Ace laughed as he was already soaking wet and she began to laugh too.

Ace threw his head back and spread his arms out wide, embracing the sudden onslaught of rain that had taken their minds off of their shitty reality. If he hadn't closed his eyes he might have noticed the mischievous smile that had overtaken Lizzy's face as she slowly crept closer to him. Without warning she gave him a sharp shove that sent him off balance and tumbling backwards into a large puddle of mud behind him. He landed with a loud ungraceful and undignified splash that caused the parts of him that hadn't fallen in the mud to get covered in it anyway. He gasped as he hit the dirty water, spluttering as some of it ran into his mouth and eyes. Lizzy laughed hysterically as he continued to spit out the disgusting stuff. Once he had gotten over the initial shock he too began to laugh. He scooped a handful of mud into his hands forming a large brown ball and jumped to his feet. Lizzy shrieked and turned to run as he lobbed the thing at her, sadly she was just a second too slow and the large mudball caught her square in the back.

For the next few moments, the lovers chased after each other, pelting one another with mud and laughing when they hit their target. There was a pause as each of them turned to look at the other and could only laugh as they realized they had thoroughly caked the other in the dark sludge. The two of them stood there giggling hysterically, unable to catch their breath as the storm raged on. Finally they each calmed themselves long enough to realize that it was getting late. They looked over at the giant wall that surrounded the majority of the Goa kingdom and saw guards making preparations to shut down operations.

"I can't go back to the city now," she exclaimed, shouting slightly to be heard over the wind and rain, "They close the gates when storms get this bad! Besides, they wouldn't even let me back in being this filthy!"

"I have an idea, come with me!" Ace exclaimed grabbing her by the hand and pulling her in the direction of Mt. Corvo. He couldn't let her stay with Dadan for the night because again Luffy would probably annoy them all night laughing and teasing and generally being the little shit he was, and the mountain bandits might scare her away. But there was one place on the mountain that could house them for the night. The two of them ran through the jungle, the rain coming down harder with every second. They laughed as they splashed through puddles and trudged through muddy slopes. The storm had thoroughly ruined Lizzy's dress but she didn't seem to care as they held hands in the torrential downpour.

Finally they came upon the base of a large tree, Ace hadn't seen this place in years. Not since the night of the fire. He was surprised to see that it still seemed to be in good condition and that years of neglect hadn't left the thing to die. He wasn't too excited to step foot in the fort, as it held too many memories, but he was surprised to find that the ache although still present had diminished somewhat over the years. There was something bittersweet about seeing the building he, Sabo, and Luffy had all worked on together and lived in. Lizzy didn't seem to notice it at first and was looking around in confusion, so he pointed up at the large tree fort that towered above them and she gasped in delight. He couldn't help but smile at that. He leaned in and gave her an affectionate kiss on the lips that lasted slightly longer than normal. She closed her eyes briefly and grinned up at him.

"Let's get out of this rain!" he shouted, the jungle was even louder than usual with all of the trees roaring and swaying in the wind. She nodded and they began climbing up the ladder to the entrance of the fort. Once inside, the loud sounds of the storm were muffled by the thick wooden walls. It was oddly dry and cozy in the fort and now that they were out of the storm, they felt a wave of fatigue wash over them and they collapsed to the ground, dripping all over the dry wooden floor. They sat there for several minutes breathing heavily, trying to catch their breath. Lizzy slumped over and leaned against Ace's shoulder and he felt a tingling sensation spread throughout him and he noticed he had goosebumps as every part of his body came alive at her touch.

"Are you cold?" Lizzy asked, noticing his prickling skin as well. His face went a bit red and he nodded slightly, even though he wasn't really. Ace wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him so that she was practically on his lap. She smiled and gently rested her head back on his chest, closing her eyes. Ace noticed that since she had removed her scarf, her long golden curls had tumbled free, and he soon found himself playing with a lock of her hair while lost in thought. She was so soft and warm and it felt amazing for their bodies to be this close together. He sighed in contentment.

"Is this where you live?" She asked, snapping Ace out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw her wide blue eyes taking in the toys and children's paintings that littered the floor and covered the walls.

"Hm? Oh no, not anymore," he answered "Me and my brothers made it back when we were kids, we used to hang out here all the time," just thinking about the times spent here sent a surge of both nostalgia and sadness through Ace.

"Brothers?" Lizzy asked, catching his mistake. He quickly looked away his eyes darkening, unable to meet her gaze.

"Brother." He corrected. She seemed to understand what he meant and she turned so that she could kiss him. She gently took hold of his face with both of her hands so that she could bring it to her own, he knew once his eyes met hers she could see that pain and sadness in them. He saw the pain he felt become reflected onto her own eyes and she leaned in and kissed him long and softly. When she finally pulled away she gently wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder, holding him tightly to her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Ace said nothing, he just let her hold him, wishing that it was enough to make the hurt go away entirely. They stayed like this for a while as the sun set and the sky began to darken, only illuminated by the flashes of lightning from the storm raging outside.

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**Ok, so that might be the most romantic chapter in the whole thing. Honestly, I've never written romance so I hope this was convincing and believable and that I didn't lay it on too thick. I just figured that it might be nice to have Ace have a lover before he died, to give him and Lizzy some Roger and Rouge parallels- though Lizzy definitely wasn't pregnant when Ace died. Also having a character who is wealthy for a change might be interesting, Sabo doesn't count because he didn't have access to his wealth and he was already pretty well aware of the suffering of the poor and the depravity of the nobles. It might be fun to write someone who hasn't seen this yet. I don't know. She does have a purpose in this story and it will become clear eventually. As it is, I hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So last we saw, Luffy was left on his own. Ace really doesn't realize how much he means to the boy does he? To be fair, Ace doesn't see any value in his own life what-so-ever anyway so I'll leave you on that depressing note. I feel like this is the chapter that sort of reveals what sort of fic this is and the tone it will have throughout, I'm so mean to these poor boys. Then again, Oda's the one who wrote their backstory and the shitty world they live in so all I'm doing really is building off of that so blame him and not me. The world of One Piece always seems so fun and magical, it's always startling to me when you take the time to think of all the darkness that lies just below the surface of it and it's hard for that darkness not to seep into your writing sometimes. Overall, despite all that there will be humor and levity here and there as well as some good old fashioned fluff. Maybe not in this chapter though. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Chapter 3: Nightmares**

It was hot, so hot, and he couldn't breath. He could hardly see through the burning air which caused his eyes to water and his lungs choke. In the distance he could see something, no it was someone. They were so familiar to him, their name on the tip of his tongue... but it couldn't be... Sabo? He took a few shaky steps forward and felt his desperation pushing him further, faster and faster into a run.

"Sabo!" He cried out, desperately chasing after the older boy who was so close and yet so far away. He reached out, his fingers just a hair's breadth away from his brother but suddenly there was a bright flash and Sabo was consumed by the flames. He watched in horror as he slowly burned away in front of him leaving nothing behind.

"SABO!" he screamed tears filling his eyes, "WAIT DON'T GO! SABO!" He began to sob as he knew that nothing he could do would ever bring back his older brother. Screams filled the air, it was the sound of people being burned alive, and he could smell the flesh. It made him sick to his stomach. He looked around wildly, he was lost, lost in the fire that threatened to swallow him whole. Where was Ace, Ace had been with him hadn't he? He couldn't be gone too! Luffy screamed in agony at the thought that his other brother had been devoured by the flames as well. He ran through the fire not caring how the burning earth scorched his feet. And then he saw him, he was laying face down on the ground, the fire licking at his still limbs. He wasn't moving. Luffy ran and knelt beside him, his eyes widening with fear. He shook his older brother gently but still there was no response.

"Ace, Ace you have to get up, we have to get out of here…" he whimpered, tugging on the boy's shirt trying to get him to move, but still he laid there, his eyes shut. Luffy gave a heave and flipped his brother onto his back and screamed. The front of Ace's body was soaked in blood, the liquid began leaking out all over Luffy as though there hadn't been a wound there before. Streams of blood began leaking out of Ace's mouth and nose and his breathing stopped entirely. Luffy looked down in horror at the dead body of his older brother and felt the warm blood seeping through his fingers. He began to scream in terror as the flames enclosed on him and his brother and his vision began to burn bright white.

"ACE!" He screamed sitting bolt upright in bed, sweating and breathing heavily. But no one answered the cry. He was all alone. No, no, he was dreaming right. Ace had been fine, he had come home after the fire. But then where was he? He looked around the dark fort, but Ace wasn't there. "Ace!?" he cried out desperately "Ace where are you, where did you go!?". He climbed shakily to his feet and stumbled out of the fort and into the raging storm outside. He couldn't see anything except for the flashes of light that arced across the sky, reminding him of the angry flames that climbed higher and higher until there had been almost no sky left. It was a dream, it was a dream, but he couldn't shake the surreal feeling the nightmare had given him and the chaos of the storm was disorienting him. He was struggling to breathe again, and he could almost smell the smoke in his lungs that kept him from getting the oxygen he needed. He tried to take deep breaths but his lungs seemed to be spasming and he couldn't get rid of the sense of panic brought on by the foreign atmosphere of the storm.

"ACE!" he screamed again, he had to find his brother. He had to be safe, he couldn't be dead, but the image of Ace's body burning away was fresh in his mind's eye and he could no longer see straight. Ace couldn't be dead, he had promised him, Luffy couldn't be alone, he just couldn't. He began to run, he wasn't sure where he was going or what he was hoping to accomplish, he just knew he needed to see Ace, to make sure that it all really had been a dream. His arms ached but he didn't care, he couldn't see anything through the pouring rain and the tears in his eyes and he began to trip and stumble. He fell down a large muddy slope where he landed heavily on his face. He climbed once more to his feet but he was so rattled he could hardly stand. "ACE!" He called, but no brother came to his aid. Ace would never leave Luffy on his own, he would never ignore him... A cold knife of fear stabbed itself into his stomach, leaving him unable to breathe. What if it hadn't been a dream.

"ACE! WHERE ARE YOU ACE!" Over and over he screamed his brother's name, with no response. Every time the call came unanswered he screamed more desperately until he began to cough and choke. He began running again, the world spinning around him as the thought of Ace being dead slowly wormed its way into his chest with its icy tendrils of fear. He felt his run beginning to falter, he was wearing himself out. He had already unintentionally reopened the wounds on his shoulders and he was bleeding again.

"Ace!" he choked out with a sob, "Where did you go!?". He barely had the energy to even scream anymore, his run was slowly becoming a sort of dazed limp. He began to lean heavily on trees as he passed them, and he began coughing up blood as he had shot his vocal chords with his screams. He looked around, he finally knew where he was. He was nearing the tree fort he, Ace and Sabo had built together. He looked up blearily and saw it sitting there in the distance, he swore there was a faint glow emanating from the windows. Maybe Ace was hiding there, maybe he wasn't dead after all. "Ace…" he whispered under his breath, barely able to get the word out. He began to move faster. His tired, disoriented mind had come to the twisted conclusion that Ace must be in there and if he wasn't then he must be dead. Luffy had never been so scared in his life as he climbed weakly up the side of the tree to reach his brother. Spurts of blood shot out of his reopened wound but he didn't care, he had to know that Ace was okay.

"Ace…" he mumbled throwing open the trap door. The room was lit by a small candle, flickering warmly and gently. He scanned the whole room and there he was, relaxing against the back wall of the fort, some girl in his arms. Luffy hardly cared about what was going on or why he was here, all that mattered was that he was alive.

"Luffy!?" Ace cried out in shock, the girl turning to stare at him with wide eyes, "What the hell are you doing here!" A flash of anger lit up Ace's face, "You're not supposed to-"

"ACE!" Luffy's voice broke as he screamed his brother's name one last time. He was alive, he was really alive, he flopped onto the floor and began sobbing, the relief too much for the twelve year old to handle. His entire body was shaking and blood was beginning to pool around him. He tried to get to his feet but he just stumbled forward landing heavily on his brother and he clung onto him for dear life, terrified that if he let go he would find out that Ace really had died. Luffy buried his face in the teenager's chest and began sobbing so hard that he nearly passed out.

"Luffy what's wrong!?" Ace exclaimed stunned at the boy's unusual behavior, he pulled him away from his chest to look him over for injuries, "did something happen, are you hurt!?" and then he gasped when he finally noticed the bleeding arms. Luffy refused to let go of his brother so the instant Ace released him from his grip he snapped right back into place with his face buried in his chest. It took ten minutes for Luffy to calm down long enough to form words, but he was still hiccuping and shaking violently. Ace was now holding Luffy close to him and gently rubbing his back to calm him down. The girl just sat next to them in a stunned silence, clearly not sure of what to say.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Ace asked softly, appearing much calmer than he really was. Finally Luffy pulled away from his brother so that he could speak, but he was still sputtering and coughing from the heavy crying so it took him several tries to get the words out. He looked into Ace's concerned and very much still alive brown eyes and felt himself calming slightly.

"I was in the fire again!" He wailed, his voice horse and cracked, Luffy noticed Ace's face tense slightly and he hiccuped a few more times before he could continue, "it was hot and-and I couldn't breathe, and S-Sabo was there, but he was burning!" Ace's entire body seemed to go rigid at these words and he grimaced slightly. He let Luffy let out a few more sobs and embraced him tightly. Then Luffy pushed away ready to continue his story.

"You were gone, but when I found you…you...you were…" he paused here, unable to say it "I-I woke up, but you w-weren't there so-so I was afraid that you were burned up by the fire too-" Luffy's entire face twisted up in pain as he said this and he almost started sobbing again but he caught himself and continued. "So I had to find you, but I-I got lost and I was really scared that you died cause I couldn't find you anywhere!" At this Luffy collapsed back into Ace's chest, "please don't leave me Ace…" his muffled voice sounded so heartbroken that it hurt Ace's very being.

"It's okay Luffy, I didn't die," Ace smiled at him and ruffled his hair gently "remember, I promised I wouldn't." Luffy took a few more gulps of air, nodded but didn't move an inch and his fingers dug slightly into Ace's back. There was a long pause as Ace waited for Luffy to finally stop crying, at least long enough to allow him to talk without passing out.

"I thought you said you didn't have those nightmares anymore," Ace said softly, Luffy said nothing. His face felt warm from shame as he hid it in his brother's chest.

"I don't…" Luffy lied not letting Ace look at his face which would surely reveal the truth, which was obvious regardless. Luffy was no good at lying and it was in times like these that he wished he was.

"Luffy…" Ace said slightly sternly and Luffy squirmed uncomfortably. "You were lying weren't you, why did you tell me that?" Luffy remained silent, not sure what to say to his brother, he had disappointed him yet again. Why was he so bad at being a little brother!? There was a long silence as Luffy tried to think up a good lie to tell his brother. Maybe that this was the only nightmare he'd had in years, maybe that it was the soup, the soup had been bad and it gave him nightmares. Or maybe it was because he had gotten sick, he experimentally coughed quietly to himself but it sounded about as convincing as any of his other lies. He finally pulled away from Ace and looked at the floor awkwardly. His face was bright red from both the tears and from embarrassment.

"I-I" he stumbled "They weren't too bad…" he mumbled so quietly that Ace had to strain to hear him.

"You wanted me to think you were tough, right?" Ace asked and Luffy reached up and grabbed his straw hat that was hanging from his neck and pulled it down over his head so that it hid his face. He nodded slowly and didn't meet his brother's eyes, still clutching his hat tightly in his trembling fingers. Ace sighed and gently removed the straw hat, softly tugging it from Luffy's hands so he could see the boy's face. His eyes were welling up with tears again and he looked so ashamed of himself that he was going to melt into a puddle of misery on the floor. Ace sighed, so that was the reason Luffy always clung to him, it was those damned nightmares of his. If only Ace had known that, he wouldn't have left the kid's side. Just waking up to find Ace there was obviously enough to calm him down, and now that he had gone to visit Lizzy it was the first time he had woken up to find him gone and he hadn't known what to do or how to calm himself down.

"You don't need to lie to me Luffy," Luffy said nothing but he nodded slightly, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly as another crash of thunder shook the fort. The poor boy was still trembling and hiccuping. Ace gently punched his uninjured shoulder, barely hard enough to make contact and laughed slightly, hoping to calm the frightened twelve-year old. "Hey, come on, there's no need to cry about it, everything's fine. It's just a little storm, there's nothing to be scared of," Luffy nodded again and gave a small wavering smile, he then laughed a little bit in a way that still sounded a bit like a sob. He fell forward again and collapsed against his big brother, his entire body seeming to melt into him as he finally let himself relax.

"I'm just really glad you're ok!" he mumbled and closed his eyes passing out from exhaustion in his brothers arms and snoring loudly. Ace laughed, genuinely this time and held the younger boy closely to him, he kept laughing for several moments as he shifted the boy into a more comfortable position.

"So that's your brother?" Ace jumped, nearly dropping his brother, he quickly caught him, not wanting to wake him up yet again. He had nearly forgotten that Lizzy was there. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at the small, sleeping rubber boy in Ace's lap in astonishment and concern. "Is he ok!?" She exclaimed looking at his bandaged arms.

"Oh yes!" Ace answered, recovering from his initial shock "this is Luffy, he's three years younger than me, and yes, he's fine… although…" Ace looked at the sleeping boy's arms and shook his head in annoyance "...it looks like the idiot reopened his wounds…" He sighed, Luffy was never going to recover at this rate.

"Here, I can get some new bandages," Lizzy offered pulling out a roll of cloth from her basket. Carefully, with Ace's help she removed the old rust colored bandages and replaced them with brand new gleaming white ones that were slowly staining red as Luffy's blood soaked through them. "Uhh...that looks like a lot of blood…" she said biting her lip, "are you sure he's okay?"

"That's normal for him, he bleeds a lot but he'll be fine," Ace shrugged it off. Luffy often injured himself and lost a lot more blood than an average person could usually survive, but somehow the kid could just sleep it off, eat some meat and he would be fine. He couldn't understand it, but it didn't make it any less true. Luffy was sleeping the most sound Ace had ever seen him, he wondered if this might be the first time in a while he had gone without having a nightmare. He had hid it surprisingly well from him, how had Ace not noticed before. Maybe the nightmares had become so second nature to him that he had just grown accustomed to waking up periodically throughout the night just to check if Ace was okay, or maybe this had just been a particularly nasty one.

"What was he talking about… what fire..?" Lizzy began, then a sudden look of realization crossed her face, her eyes went wide as she gasped in horror, quickly covering her mouth. "You don't mean…!?" Ace's eyes darkened and he nodded slightly. "The great fire of grey terminal!? But that was almost five years ago!"

"Yeah, well a seven year old kid isn't going to forget the time he was nearly burned alive because the nobles simply didn't feel like dealing with their mess," Ace couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. It had taken him a while to get over the events of the fire as well, but he would never forgive those damn nobles for not only nearly killing them, but for mentally scarring his kid brother.

"The nobles…" Lizzy dropped her hand looking slightly confused "But I thought… I thought… they said it was the Bluejam pirates who…" She stammered a bit, realization slowly dawning on her.

"Yeah, and who do you think paid them to do that," Ace shot, he felt the anger bubbling up inside him. Anger and shame as well that he was tricked into helping them. For years after a nightmare, Luffy would cry about how it was his fault that the fire started, he seemed to take all the blame for the incident upon himself despite the fact that he had only been seven years old at the time. Ace balled his fists, he would never ever forgive them for what they put his brother through.

"No… they can't have… that's too far, even for them!" she gasped but it was clear that she knew he was telling the truth. "I-I remember seeing the fire from my bedroom window… The flames were so bright that they lit up my entire room, anyone caught in that fire would have been incinerated...burned alive… and you're telling me that they did that on purpose!?" Lizzy looked sick to her stomach at the thought, Ace merely nodded. Lizzy took a deep breath, reeling with that knowledge. She seemed to shrink into a ball against the wall unsure of what to feel as confusion, rage, despair and horror all fought to take control.

"You think I'm lying?" Ace shot, unable to stop himself as he felt his rage coiling up inside him like a wild animal ready to pounce at anything that moved, "We saw so many people die that night Lizzy, we barely made it out with our lives." The images of burned bodies and screaming victims began to appear in his mind's eye. "The next day they even sent soldiers to shoot down any survivors," Ace squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered a poor young woman who had been unlucky enough to survive being burned alive and was quickly put out of her misery by several armed men. Her cries for help still rang in his ears. "It was like hell on fucking earth! And all we could do was watch and run for our lives!" Ace's voice trembled a bit, he was barely managing to keep from running to the town and setting it ablaze so that those responsible would know what it was like to watch everything you knew go up in flames. Lizzy put her head in her hands, tears welling in her eyes.

"They told us… they told us they had helped the survivors, that they had done their best to save as many people as they could and put out the fire! I can't believe that they would do that!" She gasped. Her fingernails began to dig into her skin as she trembled with shock and fury.

"Hey," Ace shrugged, "It's what we get for being poor." His voice was so sharp and venomous that Lizzy flinched at the words, even though his hatred wasn't directed at her, but at the rich bastards who had killed so many that night. Lizzy's eyes suddenly went wide and her face went pale, she turned to stare at Ace with horror on her face.

"He said… 'Sabo was burning'... is that how-" A single look from Ace cut her off. His face was filled with such hatred and anger that he was nearly unrecognizable, his eyes were so cold it nearly stopped her heart. She had never seen this side of him, and it frightened her. Ace looked away, realizing that he had scared her and was now feeling guilty but his rage still consumed him.

"No!" He spat, unable to keep the raw emotion from corrupting his voice. He folded his arms protectively around his little brother, holding him to his chest and tightly squeezing him, trembling with rage.

"Sabo was murdered!" His entire body was so tense that if Luffy hadn't been made of rubber he might have snapped him in half. As it was the boy didn't even stir.

"By whom!?" Lizzy gasped, unable to keep herself from asking.

"The damn celestial dragons! That's who!" Ace spat the name 'celestial dragon' as though it were poison on his tongue.

"You mean, he was the kid on the fishing boat! The one they shot down!?" Lizzy hissed barely able to breathe, she had been there that day with her family, she had had no idea that the kid was Ace's brother. Ace just nodded, and his shoulders shook slightly as though he was trying not to cry in frustration. There was a long silence as Ace fought to contain the silent fury that burned within him, a coil of hatred just as intense as he had felt for the whole world before he had met his brother. After all these years, there was still a part of him that desired to kill and hate and destroy. It was a fury he had thought he had left behind, but it seems that the past is much harder to kill and part of it still screamed inside of him, demanding justice, no more than that. He wanted vengeance, the desire to watch those he hated burn to the ground still seethed within him with such unbridled ferocity that it scared him. He was scaring Lizzy as well, he could tell. The aura of absolute hatred emanated from him into the room and filled it with a tense stillness that left her speechless.

Just then Luffy mumbled in his sleep and a distressed expression crossed his face as though instinctively he knew something was bothering Ace. Ace felt his anger dissipating as he looked at the small boy he was nearly crushing in his arms. He hadn't realized that he was still so raw inside that the mere thought of what happened would lead him to such savage thoughts and emotions. If he wasn't careful, he knew he would end up getting his brother killed, like the bear back when they were kids and even back in the alley way when he had accidentally hurt Luffy by letting his anger take control of him. He had to let it go, or one day he would regret it, and he had sworn he would never let himself live to regret anything ever again. He took several deep breaths and forced his tense muscles to relax.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, both to his brother and to Lizzy who seemed quite anxious herself. She had never seen this side of him, and he hoped that his anger hadn't scared her away from him altogether. He closed his eyes feeling shame wash over him for behaving like a child again and letting his anger get the better of him. Suddenly he felt cool hand gently place itself against his back and he turned to see Lizzy staring at him with concerned but gentle eyes.

"No, I'm sorry for prying… I had no idea…" she said softly but Ace shook his head.

"I just get so angry sometimes, it's not your fault," Lizzy smiled sadly and kissed him gently, showing him that she had forgiven him for frightening her.

"You have good reason to be angry," she offered but Ace didn't say anything, he just closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall of the fort. He felt her sidle up next to him and brush away a few angry tears he hadn't even noticed he had shed from his cheeks. She then kissed him on the cheek and rested her head against his shoulder. Everything was quiet after that, she didn't bother to try and reassure him any further, but allowed her presence to offer her support of him and soon he felt his breathing sync up with both hers and Luffy's. He hadn't even realized how tired his rage had made him, and he slowly felt himself drifting into unconsciousness.

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**So that was a lot to unpack in a single chapter. I think its fair to assume that all the things they saw and experienced as kids stuck with them into adulthood. Although they don't like to dwell on their pasts, I feel like the effects these events had on their personality are pretty clear in the story. Honestly the first time I ever really noticed that there might be something more complex to Luffy's backstory was back in the Alabasta arc, back in the scene where Luffy is explaining to Vivi that war is inevitable and that they have to go take on Crocodile. She asks him what is so wrong about trying to prevent any one from dying in the upcoming battle and Luffy just very firmly and somewhat coldly says "People die". The way the scene was framed and how Luffy was written up to that point it honestly shocked me, it seemed to imply that he knew death all too well, had experienced something like this before and that he understood the nature of their world. The nature of the world that we as viewers hadn't even seen yet. Needless to say, its one of my favorite moments in the series for its subtlety, and its one of the moments that really got me thinking about Luffy as a character. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Step Back in Time…**

The little boy sat on a small purple cushioned couch in a dimly lit room. It was midday but all the curtains had been drawn closed and the door to the hallway beyond was only open by an inch. The doctor had just left, leaving it slightly open and his soft footsteps grew fainter as he approached the meeting area out front. He had come to inspect the long ring of nasty purple bruises that peppered the small child's neck and to check for any further progress in his recovery. He had asked him many questions, where did it hurt, had he been eating enough, did he feel any discomfort? The boy said nothing, his slightly bloodshot and vacant eyes never leaving the wall behind the man. After several minutes of this process and gaining no response, the man had simply sighed, performed several tests and then turned to leave, telling the boy to tell any grownups if he began to feel any stomach pain.

"How is he doctor?" a kindly woman's voice echoed down the hall. For the first time in what felt like eons, the boy's eyes flickered with recognition. He whipped his head around to the sound, his heart hammering in his chest as his breathing nearly stopped. Could it be...was she…?

"Not well, I'm afraid Ms. Hampton," immediately the light that had been rekindled in the child's eyes was snuffed out by an overwhelming surge of despair. It hadn't been her, it was just Dana. Slowly he turned his head back to face the wall he had been staring at for the past several hours, feeling more empty than he had been before.

"The poison seems to have left his system for the most part but there is still the possibility that his organs have been permanently damaged, however he refused to answer any of my questions on the subject," the doctor's voice continued. The boy wasn't particularly interested in what he had to say but he found himself listening in anyway.

"...Yes, I'm afraid he's been quite despondent since he heard what happened…" Dana said sounding concerned. The corners of the boy's lips tipped slightly downward at that, he didn't want to upset Dana, she was a nice lady.

"Yes, well, keep a close eye for any strange behavior, if he starts vomiting, exhibiting stomach pains or coughs up blood call me immediately," there was a pause as Dana must have nodded. "Good, I checked his external wounds as well and they seem to be healing nicely but I expect that he will still be sore for some time. The bruises on his neck will probably fade by the end of the week but keep an eye on his breathing, his windpipe was damaged by the... incident" there was another awkward pause.

"I understand doctor…" another pause followed by several footsteps "Wait doctor! If I may…. I know it's not your area of expertise but…" The footsteps stopped and the boy could imagine Dana biting her lip as she was oft to do when she was nervous or concerned. "How is he mentally… do you think he is going to ok or…" The doctor sighed.

"I am no psychologist but even I can tell that he isn't coping well, he's quite underweight and he shows signs of exhaustion, I can see he hasn't been eating or sleeping, I strongly advise you continue to encourage him to do so, if this behavior continues I assure you he will not last much longer," there was silence as Dana processed this, then the two of them bade each other farewell and the sound of the front door shutting signaled the doctor's leave.

"Oh kid, what am I going to do with you?" Dana whispered just loud enough that the boy could still hear. He felt bad for making her feel this way, but he couldn't help it. He still felt dazed about everything that had happened although he couldn't quite remember it. It was like his head was underwater and it made everything blurry and out of focus, and everyone's words sounded far away. He was still very small and couldn't speak well himself but usually he could understand others quite well, lately however he was struggling to process even the most basic sentences. What did it even matter anyway?

He thought back to that afternoon and tried to piece together what exactly had happened, but it was so murky in his head… Dinner, momma had made dinner...then there was pain in his tummy, horrible burning pain...he was crying, momma was hurt… two hands wrapped around his neck lifting him off of the floor and squeezing the life out of him...someone was hitting him...then darkness. The images played through his mind again and again as he tried to make sense of them but no matter how he tried, his mind refused to fill in the blanks. All he remembered clearly was waking up in a strange bed with weird people hovering over him, he was covered in bruises, cuts and bandages. Everything hurt, everything still hurt, especially his stomach, but he didn't say anything. The pain hardly felt like anything compared to the hollow ache he felt in his chest.

There was a knock at the door, when he said nothing Dana gently pushed it open carrying a large plate of food. He slowly glanced up at her and when he met her eyes she smiled brightly, he said nothing still and looked away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the bright smile fade into a worried frown. He was small, so small, and growing smaller with every passing day. She needed to get him to eat or the poor thing would starve by the end of the week. She held the plate out to him. The boy looked down at it and felt a small rumbling in his stomach, but no matter how empty his stomach felt he couldn't bring himself to take the food. He looked away and began uncomfortably fidgeting with his shirt.

"Please dear, you need to eat something," Dana sighed pushing the food towards him. He squirmed away slightly and refused to look at it. "Why won't you eat, sweetie, does your stomach hurt?" The boy still said nothing. She set the food tray down on the coffee table across from the couch and knelt down in front of him, gently taking his shoulders. She gently brushed the raven locks that had fallen over his gaze out of his eyes.

"Luffy look at me," she said firmly and the boy's eyes widened slightly at the sound of his name, reluctantly he turned to look at her. "Listen, you have to eat, you have to tell me what's wrong or I can't help you!" The boy just blinked his wide brown eyes, he hadn't said a word since the first day he had arrived here. There was nothing worth saying, nothing worth the effort so he simply remained quiet, even when he felt agonizing stabs of pain shoot through his middle he stayed silent. Who cared about that anyway?

Dana cursed under her breath and her grip tightened on his shoulders causing him to wince slightly. Suddenly she began to shake him violently back and forth a look of anger crossing her face. "I know you're upset Luffy but you can't keep doing this to yourself! Your mother is gone, get that into your head! She is not coming back and starving yourself won't make it better!" She stopped shaking him and glared at him sternly. Luffy opened his mouth then closed it again, he felt for the first time in days something other than emptiness and that was almost worse. His eyes widened and they began to fill with tears that had gone unshed for too long.

"B-but…" he whimpered "she wouldn't leave me… she loves me...mama loves me...she…" his lips were trembling too much for him to continue speaking. Dana's shoulders slumped and a look of pain crossed her face as she looked at the crying three year old. After a moment she pulled him close into a tight hug where he sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder. She rubbed his back soothingly as he cried, letting him finally process what happened nearly a week ago.

"Momma!" he wailed, his fingers wrapping themselves into Dana's soft green shirt. After a solid five minutes of crying the child went still in her arms. She pulled him away to see that although big fat tears were still rolling down his cheeks he had calmed down enough to listen to her. She sat him back down on the bed and once more grabbed the tray of food. She held it up to him once more and this time he actually looked at it.

"Eat," she said and a small trembling hand tentatively reached out and took a small triangle of a sandwich. Slowly, still hesitating he put the bread to his lips. He took one more pause before nibbling the end of the triangle. Then as though a dam somewhere within him collapsed he began cramming the sandwich into his mouth with large hungry bites, tears still streaking down his cheeks. Dana uttered a sigh of relief as he took another sandwich and she turned to leave, allowing him to eat his lunch in peace.

Luffy watched as Dana left him alone. His stomach hurt but he couldn't stop himself from eating more, he was so hungry. He took another sandwich slice and felt his shoulders shake as he took another bite. He was glad that the other kids weren't allowed to bother him, he didn't want to be with anyone right now, not when he looked like this. He heard their voices from another playroom down the hall, laughing and playing games. None of them had parents, but they were used to it by now, they had each other. Luffy had no one. He was alone. The thought sent a jolt of pain through his heart and he let out a choked sob.

"You did contact the boy's grandfather didn't you Dana?" a harsh voice cut through the silence catching Luffy's attention.

"Yes Molly, I did, he hasn't responded yet," Dana answered and Molly snorted.

"Doesn't surprise me, he's illegitimate, Garp's probably embarrassed of the little brat," Luffy listened, he'd never heard that word before. What did illegitimate mean? Were they talking about him? Was illegitimate a good thing?

"Molly!" Dana snapped, reprimanding her friend. Luffy frowned, he guessed it was a bad thing then.

"Well you give a better reason for why he hasn't answered yet!" There was a pause, clearly Dana had none. "That's what I thought, you know this is probably the first he's heard of it, he probably had no idea his son, whoever he is, went out and fucked some whore leaving behind a bastard son for him to take care of-"

"MOLLY! YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Dana shouted causing Luffy to jump. He hadn't heard half of those words before but based on the way they were said and Dana's response he guessed that they were all nasty. He felt a surge of rage rush through his veins, she was talking about him wasn't she, but not only that she was talking about his mom. He had already heard the grown-ups around him say plenty of things about the both of them but now it was really sinking in.

"What!? You want me to compliment the bitch who tried to murder her own kid before taking her own life? Not that I blame her, the little freak creeps me out too, so-"

"Get out." Dana's voice was scarily calm. There was a pause.

"Excuse me?"

"I said get out Molly, you are fired."

"What!? But-"

"I do not tolerate my employees speaking about the children under our care in such a way now get out!" Luffy could tell that there would be further shouting and words that he didn't want to hear anymore, so he quietly slid off the couch and silently padded to the door which he gently closed. The voices were muffled now. He didn't care anymore, he was so tired. He didn't care if it was only midday, he climbed back up on the couch, a troublesome task for his small body and laid down, curling into a ball. He closed his eyes as the voices grew louder and felt himself gently falling into darkness.

* * *

**So that was a bit intense, and a bit depressing... So here we are entering my idea for what might have happened to Luffy's mom, it's a bit of a mystery at this point but I have the whole story of what happened with Dragon, who Luffy's mom might be and what exactly happened between them in my head. I might get around to writing it eventually. I've seen several fics that try to go into Dragon's backstory but they never finish... it makes me sad. I know my ideas probably aren't even close to what really happened in the story, but its fun to think about while we wait. I don't know if we'll ever really find out. Oh well, until then I hope this serves as an interesting (somewhat sad because like Oda, I'm cruel to characters) alternative to the cannon. **


	5. Chapter 5

**So this chapter is going to be a much more lighthearted chapter and I think the next few will be as well. Honestly Ace and Luffy are my favorite duo and we didn't get to see nearly as much of them together in the manga or anime as I wanted, honestly I would love just a spin off series of Ace and his adventures or of them growing up together. I'm sure they got into much more trouble than with just the Bluejam pirates. If only Sabo hadn't lost his memory, things could have turned out so differently... Ugh, ASL forever man, why couldn't they just be happy. **

**Anyways, here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Clear Skies**

Luffy opened his eyes, a soft morning ray of light was shining through a window illuminating the room he found himself in. It was oddly peaceful compared to the craziness of last night, and he didn't particularly feel like moving yet. Instead he closed his eyes and let the movement of his brother's chest gently lift him up and down as the older boy slept. The air felt cool after the storm, but his brother was warm and oddly soft. After several moments of relaxing there with his eyes closed he finally shifted slightly so that he could look up at the sleeping teenager. Ace was leaning back against the wall of the fort and his arms were still wrapped around Luffy. There was another person there too, it was the girl Luffy had noticed last night.

"Who is she?" Luffy thought aloud, quietly to himself. She had curly blonde hair and a very pretty face, she was wearing pink and purple clothing which seemed to be much higher in quality than anything Luffy had ever seen before. Furthermore she was resting her head against his brother's shoulder and had her arms wrapped around him. Whoever she was, she was brave to get that close to Ace. Ace never let anyone except his brother touch him, Luffy chuckled at the thought of Ace waking up to find this strange girl on him. In fact the thought amused him so much he tumbled backward out of Ace's hold and fell to his back rolling with laughter on the floor.

At the sudden noise, Ace slowly and groggily opened his eyes. He lifted a hand blearily and rubbed at his still sleepy eyes and scrunched his face slightly as if waking it up. He blinked several times and looked around the room as if trying to remember where he was or how he had gotten there. The confused expression on his brother's face only made Luffy laugh all the harder, the small boy held his stomach as loud guffaws erupted from his body.

"Wh-what's goin' on, what's so funny?" Ace asked confused, staring at the hysterical boy. Luffy merely pointed at the girl who was slightly stirring in her sleep. She opened her eyes and lifted her head from Ace's shoulder but didn't pull away. Ace swiftly turned to see her and his face went red and he pulled back a little bit defensively.

"Shut up Luffy," he snapped but that only made the poor kid laugh even more enthusiastically, and he was struggling to find air. The girl unwrapped her arms from around Ace and covered her mouth as she yawned loudly.

"What did I miss?" She asked looking from Ace to Luffy who was nearly in tears. Ace stood up and smacked the boy over the head. He immediately stopped laughing and bent over clutching at his head. Ace's punches never really hurt in the same way Grandpa's did but still they were enough to silence Luffy and leave him stunned.

"Hey!" he cried out, he childishly attempted to kick Ace in the shin but he easily stepped away from the attack.

"Ace, leave your little brother alone," the girl scolded and Ace turned to look at her with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Me, leave _him_ alone!? but-"

"Ace he's twelve," she said giving him a disappointed look.

"Ha ha! Ace got in trouble!" Luffy mocked sticking his tongue out at the older boy who's cheeks turned bright red. Without warning he dove at the nuisance. Luffy squealed in alarm and dove out of the way, causing Ace to grab nothing but empty air and lose his balance. He fell back with a loud thud and Luffy laughed hysterically.

"You, stop teasing him!" The girl was now addressing Luffy. He jumped to his feet and stuck his tongue out at her.

"You can't tell me what to do!" He turned to look at his brother who was still on the floor, "Hey Ace, you can't catch me and you're a big old idiot!" He shouted just to prove it. Ace jumped to his feet and tackled the kid before he could move out of the way. Luffy squirmed but he was held firm in Ace's grip, Ace was laughing now, his anger had melted at some point but Luffy wasn't sure when.

"Apologize!" Ace shouted but Luffy shook his head and sucked in his lips showing that he had no intention of doing any such thing. "Apologize now or accept the consequences!" Ace warned, Luffy yelped slightly and struggled harder but still he refused to say anything.

"No!" He cried out and Ace smiled a devilish grin.

"Just remember, you chose this," he said and he began to tickle the weak points under Luffy's arms and his tummy.

"No!" Luffy screamed and he scrambled to cover up his ticklish spots, but each time he covered one area Ace found a new spot that Luffy had left unguarded. Ace laughed wickedly as his brother laughed, screamed and pleaded, squirming to break free of his hold but failing miserably. Luffy was at his mercy.

"Stop, stop it!" he laughed, tears forming in the corner of his eyes but Ace was relentless. Luffy tried again to break free but it was useless. "Okay okay you win, I'm sorry!" he cried between gasps and laughter. Ace dropped his brother and Luffy rolled away breathing heavily.

"That's playing dirty!" he tried to pout but he couldn't stop giggling.

"You insulted my honor, it must be avenged," is all Ace said in response. Luffy took a few deep breaths, stretching out his diaphragm which was tense from all the laughing. He put his hands on his stomach and felt them rise and fall as he breathed. He could hear the girl laughing softly at their exchange. He looked up at her, growing even more curious as to who she was and what she was doing here.

"Hey you, who the hell are you," he asked "you fool," he added remembering his manners. Ace clamped his hand over his mouth and lightly hit him upside the head.

"Don't be so rude, you idiot!" he exclaimed but the girl just laughed harder.

"My name's Belonica Lizabet, but you can just call me Lizzy," Luffy just stared up at her in confusion, "Ace didn't you tell him about me?" She looked slightly hurt that Luffy didn't seem to know the name. Ace's face went even redder.

"Well I-"

"Nope!" Luffy cut him off cheerfully, pushing his hand off of his mouth "so who the hell are you?"

"Oh… well your brother and I…" she looked slightly crestfallen at the news that Ace had kept her a secret "we sort of have a thing…"

"What kinda thing?" Luffy asked oblivious, wondering what sort of cool thing they could have been keeping secret from him. He sat bolt upright, his mind raced with ideas, was it a robot, or maybe a laser shark, oh please say it was a laser shark.

"A Shanks/Makino thing," Ace said knowing that his brother's mind was running wild with ludicrous ideas that weren't even slightly close to the real thing. He waited for Luffy's laughter but instead all of the joy and excitement left his face and he slumped to the floor.

"Oh…" Luffy said "That sort of thing…" he sighed. He hated that kind of thing. It was such a boring thing. And now his brother had gotten caught up in it. Luffy felt his entire body sort of radiate a bored and disappointed energy into the air around him like a glum haze. Both Lizzy and Ace stared at him in bewilderment. As he lay there he suddenly heard his stomach give off a loud growl and his eyes brightened again.

"Hey Ace!? Do we have any food!?" He yelled and Ace's eye twitched slightly with annoyance.

"Does it look like we have any food?!" He shouted through gritted teeth. Luffy looked around the room, he slumped back to the floor his face awash with misery.

"But I'm huuuuunnggryy…." he moaned pathetically. Ace rolled his eyes and Lizzy giggled slightly.

"THEN GO FIND SOME FOOD YOU IDIOT!" Ace exclaimed exasperated, Luffy rolled over and pushed himself up staring at Ace, his eyes wide.

"You're not coming with me? But you always come with me!"

"No, I'm staying here with, Lizzy. If you want food you can go get it yourself, you're twelve years old now, you don't need me to babysit you anymore, so go!" Ace folded his arms and stared sternly at the boy. His brother could be such a pain in the ass, yes he now understood better why he could be so clingy but it didn't stop it from being any less annoying.

"By myself, but what if-"

"JUST GO!" Ace grabbed his sandal and chucked it at the boy. Luffy yelped and scrambled out of the way. Then he stuck his tongue out and jumped down the ladder and ran off into the forest. Fine, if Ace was going to be that way then he wouldn't get any breakfast, and Luffy would eat it all himself. After running several feet he slowed his pace and began to wander aimlessly, looking about his surroundings for something that would make a good meal. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a patch of bright red mushrooms.

"Hey! Those are the kind I used to eat when Grandpa threw me in the jungle alone at night!" He exclaimed to no one in particular, he marched over to them and picked a few. He shoved one into his mouth and chewed happily, they would make a good pre-breakfast snack. But what would he eat for the main meal. He didn't really feel like hunting right now, especially because the last time he'd done that alone a bear had almost torn him in half. But he wasn't scared of any stinkin' old bear, he was twelve now and he was much stronger than when he was seven.

He kept walking but the forest seemed to still be asleep, there was nothing to chase. The only thing he saw moving were tiny birds flitting from tree top to tree top, those wouldn't be any good. They hardly had any meat on them and they were way too fast to catch. It was worth a try though. Luffy lifted his right arm and began to reel it back, ready to attempt to launch it at the nearest tree, but a sharp pain in his shoulder made him pause. Oh yeah, his arms were still hurt, he sighed this was such a pain. Now he had to try hunting without using his arms. He shoved another mushroom into his mouth but this time he chewed much more grumpily with a perplexed expression on his face. Maybe he didn't need to hunt at all. He remembered several years ago he had found a large snake's nest filled with eggs. He wondered if that was still there.

A small dew drop fell off of a tree leaf above him and landed on his nose. It made him jump, but once he realized what it was he giggled slightly. He looked up at the sky, it was now a soft blue color through the trees, from what he could make out there was not a cloud in sight. All traces of the rainstorm of the past few days were entirely gone. He wondered if there might've been a rainbow earlier that morning, had he missed it? He loved rainbows, they were so colorful and fun. He always seemed to miss them though. Another dew drop landed on his head, he laughed again and lifted up his straw hat so that he wouldn't get his hair anymore wet. Sometimes when it was wet it would stick straight up and then Ace would tease him. Thinking of Ace made him feel slightly lonely out here, this was the first time in a while he had wandered off into the forest without his brother by his side. It felt weird without him, but in a way it was sort of refreshing.

"I don't need Ace, I'm gonna find some really good food all by myself," he announced indignantly and began marching towards the place he remembered finding those eggs. Maybe he would let Lizzy have one, Lizzy seemed nice. But definitely not Ace, Ace wasn't allowed. Then he thought of Lizzy and Ace together and he wrinkled his nose, it reminded him of the times he had seen Makino and Shanks together being gross and saying mushy stuff to each other when he was little. Shanks would laugh whenever he saw the faces he made, he would tell him that one day he would be saying the same things to someone else of his choosing. No, no he would not. Luffy swore that if he ever found himself making googly eyes at anyone, or saying that gross stuff, he might as well give up on his dream and throw himself into the sea.

Finally he came across the place he remembered seeing those eggs, of course it was a while ago, but there was always a chance that the snake had laid new ones right? He began rummaging through the tall grasses, hoping that it was still there. After several minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for: a large nest the size of a dining table filled with eggs bigger than the size of his head. He giggled delighted, he picked up two of the largest ones, tucking them under each arm. Suddenly he felt something brush up against his leg. He turned around and found himself face to face with an enormous serpent.

"Oh hey," he said sheepishly. There was a pause as the beast stared at him. Then it opened its jaws and let out a very loud and distinctly un-snakely roar. The force of the sound was enough to blow Luffy's hat off of his head and blow his hair back. Luffy closed his eyes, feeling specks of spittle flying into his face. The roaring stopped leaving Luffy's ears ringing, and the two stared at each other for another brief second. Then Luffy screamed and turned and ran for his life.

"ACE!" He screamed as he ran, gripping the eggs tightly under his arms as he did so. He leaped over fallen trees and large rocks, there was a large crash as the creature knocked over a tree in his pursuit of him. Luffy picked up the pace, running even faster as his sense of panic kicked in. He could now see the tree fort in the distance. He leapt over a small divot in the path and nearly tripped on the landing.

"ACE!" He screamed again as he neared the fort. He saw his brother peek his head out the window, he looked furious.

"What the hell do you want!" He shouted, then he saw the giant snake knocking over trees as it chased his brother "Oh for God's Sake!" he screamed and he leapt down from the tree fort. Lizzy joined him.

"Let me help!" she called. Ace grabbed a fallen branch that was laying on the path next to him. He leapt into the air and brought it crashing down on the serpent's head. It yelped then fell to the ground. It slowly wriggled its way up, but Lizzy grabbed her own branch and smacked it across the face. It slumped to the ground and stopped moving.

"AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with delight. Ace whirled around and glared at him.

"CAN'T I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR TWO SECONDS!?" He shouted, but Luffy ignored him. He was panting slightly, doubled over and breathing hard. He was still holding the eggs tightly to him. He turned to Lizzy and offered her the one under his right arm.

"Here... you can have this one," he huffed. Lizzy looked surprised, she reached out and took the gift from the twelve year old, not quite sure what to do with it.

"Thanks…" she said, staring down at the egg in her hands. Luffy beamed, he was glad to share with Ace's friend...or 'girlfriend'. He hoped that hers would taste fine, maybe once she cooked it he would sneak some...just to be sure. Ace stared at him, a look of bewilderment on his face. Luffy laughed at his expression, Ace sure was acting weird today. He then turned to Lizzy and whispered in her ear.

"Do you really want that, I know it's not the kind of food you're used to. Luffy barely ever shares his food, but if you don't want to eat it I will," Lizzy looked at him then shook her head and smiled.

"No I'll eat it, I think it's sweet," she turned to the smiling boy, "Thanks again Luffy," his smile grew even wider.

"Hey Ace, let's eat the snake too...I guess you can have some since you helped, but it's mostly mine and Lizzy's okay? I found it and she killed it!" Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearly trying not to let his anger get the better of him.

"Sure...whatever you say Luffy…." He said through gritted teeth. Luffy pumped his fist in the air.

"YES! SNAKE FOR BREAKFAST!" He exclaimed and Lizzy giggled.

* * *

"So if you don't live here in this fort, where do you live then?" Lizzy asked as she took a dainty bite of the fried egg on her makeshift plate, which was really just a flat polished stone they had found in the woods. It was now late morning and the three of them had just finished cooking breakfast and were now gathered together in the fort ready to eat it. Ace opened his mouth to reply but Luffy blurted out the answer before he could think of a lie to make up.

"With mountain bandits!" Luffy didn't even bother waiting to swallow his food before he spoke and was in fact cramming in more meat as he did so. His words came out a bit garbled but it was clear Lizzy was able to understand him.

"Mountain bandits!? You two are thieves!?" She exclaimed nearly dropping her food. Ace's face went bright red. This was bad. He was trying to think of some way to make it seem a bit less bad than it actually was but again his brother cut him off.

"Yep, I guess so. But I don't wanna be a thief forever," at those words Lizzy seemed to relax a bit. Ace hoped that she was taking Luffy's words as an admission that he thought thievery was wrong and no longer wanted to take any part of it, although he knew that absolutely wasn't what his brother had meant.

"Yeah, we're hoping to one day have the means to leave the mountain bandits altogether," Ace reaffirmed and Lizzy smiled encouragingly. He was glad that his idiot brother hadn't scared her off yet. Lizzy didn't seem to be the type to understand that their criminal actions came out of necessity sometimes, even though to be honest neither of them really cared they were stealing from the city folk either way.

"Ace is right, stealing can be fun but I don't wanna stay here my whole life, so Ace and I are gonna become pirates, right Ace!?" Ace felt all the color drain from his face. Lizzy, who had been drinking some of the water they had gotten from the river nearly choked and began coughing at the information.

"PIRATES!?" She exclaimed through spluttering coughs. Ace slammed his hand over his brother's mouth and began shaking him back and forth, infuriated.

"Shut up Luffy, you're not supposed to blurt that out to everyone you meet! What have I been telling you all this time!" Ace hissed still violently shaking his brother by the shoulders.

"But I thought Lizzy was your friend, right?" Luffy said growing dizzy from the whiplash of his head snapping back and forth.

"Yes but that doesn't mean you can just say anything you like you numb skull!" The two of them went on bickering like this as Lizzy caught her breath. She took another drink of the water before finally calming down enough to speak.

"I would've thought the two of you hated pirates!?" Lizzy finally exclaimed, the two boys stopped shouting at one another and turned to look at her. Ace released his grip on Luffy's shoulders and Luffy rubbed the sore spot on his arm where he had been injured. The shaking hadn't done much to help aid in its healing.

"I mean…" Ace began, not quite sure of what to say or how to fix the situation his brother had gotten him into. He hadn't always meant to keep this a secret, he would have had to tell her sometime, he was just waiting for the right time and place to tell her. To explain the situation to her.

"Why?" Luffy asked looking between the two teenagers, feeling slightly confused.

"Wasn't it the Bluejam crew who started the very fire that you have nightmares about every night, aren't they the reason you experienced one of the worst nights of your life? How could you ever want to be like that?!" Luffy looked down at his food. Just the name Bluejam brought back some unpleasant memories. Now the smell of the meat just brought back the scent of the burning flesh of the fire. He felt his muscles tense and he bit his lip slightly.

"Yeah...but...but they were the bad kind of pirate…" Luffy mumbled. Ace looked down at the small boy, who now seemed to shrink a little bit into himself. He reached back and lifted up his straw hat and lifted it off his body, he was now examining it in his hands. "There are real pirates out there, pirates like Shanks that are strong and protect their friends, and they live their lives freely… That's the kind of pirate I want to be. Not the pirates like Bluejam." Ace sighed and looked up at Lizzy who was looking slightly taken aback.

"Look Lizzy, it's not like we are like you. We can't just decide to live a peaceful life in the city, and even if we wanted to it's not like we'd be welcomed there. We've seen too much of the city from the outside to live there happily. All we have left to choose from is staying here in grey terminal and the jungle, or setting out to sea. And we already swore that we would be pirates years ago, so we can't turn back on our dreams now," He explained. Lizzy nodded, she didn't really seem to understand what he meant by that, but he could tell that she accepted it.

"So when do you guys plan to set out?" She asked, putting her plate down and staring at her hands. She looked a little bit shaken by this news. Ace felt bad, this hadn't been the easiest couple of days for her, taking one shock after another.

"When we each turn seventeen, we'll set out on our own and start our own crew," Ace said and Luffy perked up his head, glad to be talking about his dream without sullying it with the thought of the Bluejam pirates. He eagerly placed the straw hat back onto his head.

"Yeah, I told Ace he could be on my crew but he said no, too bad for him because I'm going to find the one piece and have the craziest and best adventure the world has ever seen! And I'm going to become King of the Pirates!" Luffy cried jumping to his feet and throwing his arms in the air as he shouted. It wasn't the first time Ace had heard the declaration, but somehow it still held the gravitas it did the first time he had. He wasn't sure that Luffy really would be able to accomplish everything that he wanted, especially since they would be competing against each other, but he couldn't deny the confidence in the boy's voice was somewhat inspiring. Ace found himself laughing at Lizzy's astonished face.

"The pirate king!?" She gasped but Luffy just beamed all the more enthusiastically.

"I know, he's crazy right?" Ace said kissing Lizzy on the cheek as she stared up at him with bewilderment. Luffy just laughed all the harder as he lifted up another chunk of meat and tore into it. She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes.

"You two are insane," she said slowly. Ace tilted his head and felt a mischievous smile cross his face.

"Is that a problem?" She paused before a slow smile slowly began to stretch across her lips. She began to laugh, she opened her eyes and turned to look at him.

"No, I love it!"

* * *

**Just some good old character interaction. Hopefully a fun lighthearted breather from all the doom and gloom of the first few chapters. Most of the interactions between Ace and Luffy and to some extent even Lizzy with the way she scolds them are based off the interactions I have with my younger siblings. They can be such pests but you've gotta love them.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**


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